Post#43 » by Chubby Chaser » Thu Oct 2, 2008 8:48 am
Odom coming off the bench as a sixth man role is a HORRIBLE idea. Absolutely HORRIBLE. The role of a successful sixth man is that, once inserted, will bring instant energy, scoring, and infectious hustle to the game (i.e. Manu) A major key to our success last season was Sasha coming in off the bench as a sixth man. Sasha has that tough green light mentality and brings a lot of energy on the defensive end. If our offense looked flat to start the game, Phil would insert Sasha and he would come in and start firing away from behind the arc. And to his success, he would hit a good percentage of his three's. This is EXACTLY what we need from our sixth man. These requirements are not what Lamar brings to the table. Lamar likes to let the game come to him. He likes to feel out the game and score when situations present itself. He's a chemistry guy that gets everyone going and himself going later. Now if Lamar starts coming off the bench as the sixth man, he's going to feel pressured to look for his shot immediately once he gets in.These are not strong suits of Lamar's game. When Lamar forces the ball he commits a lot of charges, turnovers, and takes a lot of bad shots (3 pointers). IMO regarding Lamar, we either start him at the 3. Or if that doesn't work out we trade him before the deadline. I however think he'll work out just fine at the 3. He's played this position before and has had success with it. He'll still create mis matches for the opposing teams. He's a great passer and a chemistry guy. The chemistry that he and Pau had last season was a beautiful thing to watch and I do not want to mess with that. He's not selfish, and won't have any problems taking a backseat to Kobe, Pau, or Andrew. I think we're getting a little a head of ourselves by considering Lamar as the sixth man, or trying him at the point guard position. We'll be fine with Lamar at the 3. At the very least give the Odom, Pau, Bynum experiment a shot. Lamar's earned it. He's been here through the bad times after the Shaq trade. He's been the Laker's scape goat throughout the whole time. He's been heavily scrutinized by the media. He's taken it all in stride. After the loss to the Celtics you could tell in his interviews how furious he was. He's stuck with us through it all and should have an opportunity to play a significant role in our championship run this year.
